Setting up a company in Jersey
To set up a company in Jersey from abroad, you work through a provider regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC): it files the incorporation on the Registry’s portal, applies for the consent to issue shares and usually supplies the registered office. The JFSC puts approval at between two hours and five days, depending on risk and the service level you pay for.
In short: unless every owner lives in Jersey, a JFSC regulated formation provider makes the application for you. Plan for a private company with at least one director, a separate secretary, a registered office on the island and a nominated person with a Jersey link, then file an annual confirmation statement and a tax return every year.
Who can set up a company in Jersey
Jersey limits who can submit an incorporation. According to the JFSC’s guidance on companies, an application can be made by a beneficial owner who lives in Jersey, where the company is 100% owned by Jersey residents, or by a JFSC regulated service provider holding a licence to provide formation services.
For a founder or group based outside the island, that means the second route. You choose the provider; the provider prepares the file and submits it.
The same application asks for consent to issue shares under the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958, known as COBO consent. The JFSC weighs the integrity of the island, protection against money laundering and terrorist financing, and Jersey’s economic interests. In practice this is why the provider asks so many questions about who owns the company, where the money comes from and what the business will do.
Choose the right company type
The Registry’s portal offers private and public registered companies, incorporated cell companies and protected cell companies, all listed on the JFSC’s incorporation page. For a single trading or holding company, the private company is the form to look at first.
- Private company. Fewer than thirty members, at least one director and a secretary. Accounts must be prepared but only need to be available to shareholders.
- Public company. At least two directors and audited accounts filed every year, so it suits a company that plans to have many shareholders or to list.
- Cell companies. Incorporated and protected cell companies are specialist structures, so take advice before choosing one.
Many firms in Jersey also form trusts, foundations, limited partnerships and Jersey Private Funds. If your plan involves one of those, say so at the first meeting, because it changes the provider you need.
What you need before you apply
Every Jersey company needs the same core building blocks:
- A memorandum and articles of association, signed by the subscribers. You can adopt the standard table of articles or write your own.
- At least one director. A sole director cannot also act as secretary, so a one-person company still needs a second person or a corporate secretary.
- A company secretary. Your provider often fills this role.
- A registered office in Jersey at all times, with the occupier’s permission to use the address.
- A nominated person. Under the JFSC’s nominated person rules, this person must have a link to Jersey: a director or secretary who lives in Jersey, a Jersey-resident lawyer or accountant, or a Jersey registered trust company business. For owners abroad, the provider usually takes this role.
- Details of every beneficial owner and controller, plus directors, secretary and members, with identity and address evidence.
The application also asks for a nature of business code and a description of the activity. If the activity appears in the JFSC’s Sound Business Policy as sensitive, expect extra questions and a slower review.
The Jersey incorporation route in seven steps
- Pick a provider and pass its checks. The provider runs due diligence on you and every owner before it will act. Have certified identity and address documents ready.
- Agree the structure. Company type, share capital, who sits on the board, who acts as secretary and whose address is the registered office.
- Choose and check the name. You can search the companies register and, if you want, reserve a name in advance.
- Prepare the documents. The provider drafts the memorandum and articles and the ownership chart if a holding company or trust sits above the company.
- File through myRegistry. The provider submits the incorporation and the COBO consent application together and pays the fee for the service level you chose.
- Receive the certificate. The company exists from the date on its certificate of incorporation.
- Finish the set-up. Open a bank account, register for GST if you need to, and apply for a business licence if you will trade or employ staff on the island.
Fees and how long it takes
Registry fees depend on speed. For 2026, the JFSC fees notice lists:
| Service level | Registry fee (2026) |
|---|---|
| Within 5 business days | £205 |
| Within 3 business days | £308 |
| Within 2 business days | £395 |
| Within 1 business day | £543 |
| Within 2 hours | £856 |
These are the Registry’s charges only. Your provider’s fee for due diligence, drafting, the registered office, the secretary and the nominated person role comes on top, and it varies from firm to firm. Higher-risk applications can take longer whatever level you pay for.
Company income tax and GST in Jersey
Jersey has three main company tax rates. Revenue Jersey states that the standard rate is 0%, with 10% for certain financial services companies, 20% for utility companies and on certain income from trading in Jersey, and a rate between 0% and 20% for retailers with retail turnover of £2m and above.
Every company incorporated in Jersey files an annual tax return, even when no tax is due. The Registry passes the company’s details to Revenue Jersey automatically, and the return is due by midnight on 30 November of the following year.
Goods and Services Tax is charged at a standard rate of 5%. Registration is compulsory once turnover reaches £300,000 in a 12-month period and optional below that.
Where you are tax resident yourself matters too. A Jersey company owned from another country may also be taxed there under that country’s rules, so take advice at home before you incorporate.
Economic substance rules
Jersey applies economic substance rules to tax-resident companies with income from relevant sectors, including banking, insurance, shipping, fund management, finance and leasing, headquartering, distribution and service centres, holding companies and intellectual property. The Crown Dependencies’ guidance says such a company generally has to be directed and managed in Jersey, with adequate staff, spending and premises there, and carry out its core income-generating activity on the island. Failing the test can lead to penalties and, ultimately, removal from the register.
If your company falls into one of these sectors, the board, meetings and decision-making need a real presence in Jersey. That shapes your choice of directors and provider.
Business licence if you trade on the island
Whether you need a licence depends on what the company does on the island. A business that runs on the island or employs staff there generally needs a business licence. A business based elsewhere that sends people to work in Jersey needs a non-resident business licence before the work starts.
Keeping a Jersey company in good standing
Once registered, the company has a fixed yearly rhythm:
- Annual confirmation statement between 1 January and the last day of February. The 2026 fee is £339 for a company administered by a trust company business and £220 for one that is not, both including a Government levy, with late charges on a sliding scale.
- Company tax return by 30 November of the following year.
- Accounts for periods of no more than 18 months. A private company keeps them available to shareholders; a public company files audited accounts.
- Registers of members, directors and secretary, kept at the registered office or another notified address in Jersey.
- Beneficial owner and controller changes reported within 21 days.
Much of this work can sit with the provider that acts as secretary and registered office. Firms listed for corporate secretarial services in Jersey handle the filings, and firms offering tax compliance, GST, accounting and payroll cover the rest.
Jersey firms that can do the work
Accountanty lists 52 firms in Jersey, and 45 of them offer company formation in Jersey, where you will find what to ask a provider and what a quote should include. Of the 52, 47 are based in St Helier, and 23 name clients from abroad as a focus; see accountants for foreign clients in Jersey. Some also help with bank accounts and residency.
To hear from several firms at once, send one free quote request through Accountanty. Accountanty reads each request and sends it to the firms that suit your plans.
The short version
The steps are short once a regulated provider has accepted you: agree the structure, file through myRegistry, then keep up the confirmation statement, tax return and ownership updates. The work to set up a company in Jersey sits mostly in due diligence, so a complete file and a clear description of your business are what speed it up.